The Best Laid Plans, Episode III
by OpticalRacer
Summary: After barely escaping a slaver and getting caught up in a bounty hunt, Soraa and Ja'Ina manage to escape their homeworld Galathu. However, their life of adventure spirals further out of control now that they've been captured by a band of female pirates. Set less than a year BBY. OC-centric. Rated T for violence and language similar to the films.
1. Chapter 1

**Best Laid Plans - A Star Wars Serial Adventure**

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_Author's Note: While I have created the characters and the situations, it all resides in the Star Wars Universe owned by George Lucas._

_This story was conceived in an episodic, serial form. To read the previous episodes of this story, please go to:_

_www fanfiction net/s/8366512/1/The-Best-Laid-Plans-Episode-I _

_www fanfiction net/s/8479640/1/The-Best-Laid-Plans-Episode-II_

_(just need to add the missing periods, I apologize for that inconvenience)_

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**Episode III**

Having finally arrived at the spaceport Jum Katar, Soraa and Ja'Ina prepared to leave their homeworld Galathu, ready to start their life of adventure.

In their efforts to leave, the young friends barely avoided becoming the property of the vile slaver Mehar Fuhar.

After getting caught up in a bounty hunt, the young women managed to escape Galathu only to be captured by the all-female pirate ship _Queen Valkyrie_…

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**Chapter One**

The escorts turned and left, leaving Soraa and Ja'Ina alone with Berini and her Twi'lek first mate Myrrna. The Captain looked over the prisoners, taking in every detail of their somewhat-disheveled appearance.

"So, are you both from Galathu?" Berini asked.

Soraa answered, "y-yes we are, Ma'am."

"You will refer to me as _Captain_, or even better, _Queen_ Berini."

Ja'Ina was afraid that Soraa had deeply offended Berini. "We are very sorry, Queen Berini. We meant no offense in our ignorance." She bowed low in hopes that her tone and manners would appease the imposing woman whose mercy they were under.

Berini was visibly pleased. "Very well, apology accepted. What are your names, girls?"

"My name is Ja'Ina Anour."

"I-I'm Soraa Matii."

"So what brings the two of you out here, away from your home, flying in In-Dee Johlo's ship?"

Soraa blurted out, "We're not with him, if that's what you're thinking!"

Berini pointed her finger at Soraa. "You didn't answer my question."

Soraa stood there red-faced and nervously shaking. She really wanted a drink right then.

"I know you weren't with that nerf-herder. Johlo and the old man both attested to that."

Soraa had a hard time holding her agitation in check. "Well, you need to tell your Twi'lek first mate that!"

Myrrna growled in response to Soraa's comment.

Berini grabbed Soraa's arm with a painfully strong grip and pulled the young woman to herself. The Captain stood about the same height as Soraa, which further unnerved the young woman. She hadn't met many women as tall as she was, and Berini was also much heftier than her. As such, Soraa found the pirate captain quite intimidating.

"You must learn some manners while on my ship, my dear girl. Otherwise, you will face some rather…_unpleasant_ consequences."

Soraa swallowed hard and trembled in fear of Berini's cryptically ominous statement.

Ja'Ina tried to ease the situation. "Soraa, just take it easy. Losing our wits won't get us anywhere."

"You need to listen to your friend, Soraa. She has some wisdom in her words!" Berini released her hold on Soraa.

While Ja'Ina managed to remain calm and collected, it actually took all she had to stay focused on the present situation. Somehow, she didn't feel any truly malicious energy from Berini. But she wasn't sure what she felt.

Berini turned to Ja'Ina. "How about you tell me your story?"

"Well, Queen Berini, we were hired by Lernel to apprehend In-Dee Johlo for destroying his asteroid mine while retrieving some kind of object. That kinda fell apart just before your crew showed up."

"And after that you managed to escape in Johlo's ship."

"That's right."

"So you know how to fly a fighter like that, then?"

Ja'Ina hesitated. She wanted to keep as much of a confident air as possible, but at the same time did not want to lie to the Captain for fear of further reprisal. "Not exactly. Fitty helped us with piloting the ship."

"Fitty?"

"Our droid. He came with our ship."

Berini put her hands on her hips and laughed. "Ahhhh, so you've taken ownership of In-Dee's craft! That's rather _pirate-like_ of you!"

Ja'Ina broke into a cold sweat. It sounded like they had quickly became serious criminals, and now were in deep trouble. "We're very sorry! We were caught up in the situation and didn't know what else to do. We'll gladly return it to him."

Berini was surprised by the young woman's comment. She raised an eyebrow. "Really? Where's your bravado? I must say I'm a bit disappointed."

Soraa and Ja'Ina looked at each other, confused by Berini's comments.

Berini chuckled. "You should be proud of yourselves! Look, I don't care what happened between you, In-Dee Johlo and the old man. As far as I'm concerned, that fighter and droid in my hangar bay is yours. However, there's something inside your ship that belongs to me."

The two pirates who searched the _Lucky Star_ entered the room and presented a small satchel to Berini. They also placed Soraa's blaster and Ja'Ina's scimitar on the table.

"My Queen, here's the idol. We found it in a hidden cargo space beneath the cockpit."

Berini accepted it with a beaming smile. "Thank you, my dear."

She turned back to Soraa and Ja'Ina, removing the object from the satchel. "This is what's mine!"

Soraa blurted out, "that must be the artifact Lernel was talking about!"

"Yes… Yes, it is! You clearly had no idea what you were taking when you flew out of the spaceport. Ohhh, the naïveté of youth!" Berini carefully studied the idol. "I was quite a bit like you at your age. I didn't really know what was going on around me for quite some time. But then I realized I needed to gain control over my life or I'd never get to where I wanted to be…" She returned the idol into the satchel and looked back up at the young women. "Oh but now I'm lecturing!"

Soraa and Ja'Ina stood there silently, but felt slightly more at ease with Berini's change of tone.

Berini picked up Ja'Ina's scimitar and Soraa's blaster. "You two are really full of surprises! Do you even know how to use these things?"

Again, Soraa blurted out without thinking. "Of course! I'm the best shot-"

"Quiet! _Yes_ or _no_ was all I wanted!" The pirate queen's booming voice was enough to stop Soraa's gloating in her tracks.

She looked at Ja'Ina and unsheathed the sword. "So this is yours?"

Ja'Ina continued with the formalities in order to keep the situation calm. "Yes, Queen Berini."

Berini looked at the beautifully-detailed hilt and studied the curvature of the blade. "It's quite a good-looking sword. Where did you get it from?"

"From my parents, I suppose. I don't know though as I was left at the orphanage as an infant and I've always had it."

"Excellent! I like a good mystery!" Berini turned to Soraa. "So what about you?"

This time, Soraa stared at her feet and spoke more softly, afraid to anger Berini again. "I too am an orphan. My parents were killed in a bronzium mine accident when I was four."

"So you learned to take care of yourselves at a very young age, eh?"

The young women both nodded wordlessly in response.

"Believe it or not, I've heard many stories similar to yours. You can take comfort in knowing that there are others here who have an idea of what you've gone through."

Ja'Ina noticed that as Berini learned more about her and Soraa, the pirate captain gradually relaxed her demeanor – to the point of seeming almost matronly, especially since she was at least twice their age.

Berini motioned to the Twi'lek. "Myrrna, remove these binders from our guests. As long as they promise to behave, that is."

Ja'Ina reassured her. "We will behave, Queen Berini." After she spoke, she realized she sounded more like a child and was a little embarrassed by it.

Myrrna grabbed some keys and walked over to the prisoners-turned-guests. She still held her scowling expression and spoke in a terse manner. "There." She unlocked the binders and took them.

Berini motioned for Soraa and Ja'Ina to sit down with her. Myrrna also sat down.

The Captain locked her eyes on the young women. "Nearly twenty years ago, right after the birth of the Empire, I was a junior Imperial Navy officer from Corellia. After a couple of years of being held back by misogynistic mentalities, I left. I decided to take the bantha by the horns and create my own destiny not dependent on short-sighted morons."

The thought of this pirate captain formerly being an Imperial officer seemed so inconceivable to Soraa and Ja'Ina. They listened with great interest.

Berini continued. "Gradually, I got my ship and put together my crew of pirates to travel the galaxy and take on various jobs. I choose only females for my crew, and they all came from some kind of broken background – former slaves, fugitives from the Empire, crime syndicates and such. My crew is my family and I keep them as a tight-knit sisterhood."

Soraa sheepishly spoke up. "S-so what about us?"

"So what about you, indeed!" The hefty pirate captain leaned back in her chair and rubbed her chin. She stared at Soraa and Ja'Ina as they sat silently.

"What do you think, Myrrna?" Berini asked as she turned to her first officer. "Think they'd be good?"

The purple-skinned Twi'lek looked at the young women with piercing eyes. Her permanent scowl continued to make them nervous. "Maybe they'd work. But what can they do?"

Berini stood up. "Come on, let's take a walk."

Soraa and Ja'Ina complied and left with Berini and Myrrna, still unsure of what was going on. The four women walked down the corridor, passing several more crewmembers of various races. They too wore varied, skimpy attire.

"How many do you have in your crew, Captain?" asked Ja'Ina.

"There're twenty-five of us total on board the _Queen Valkyrie_," Berini replied. "The crew represents a number of races – human, Zeltron, Chalactan, Mirialan, Lorrdian, Togruta, Twi'lek, Zabrak and Theelin. I find the Empire's human-superiority doctrines absolutely ridiculous! But I forbid the formation of race-based cliques. Everyone usually gets along just fine, but everyone's an individual and the occasional scuffle will happen."

"Uhh, Queen Berini, if you say that In-Dee's ship is now ours, what happened to him?" Soraa inquired with more confidence than before. "Is he dead?"

Berini replied with a smile. "Ohhh, he's not dead, at least not yet. But I think his ship is the last thing on his mind right now. We were on a bounty hunt after him, and now we're going to deliver him to our client. Actually, I appreciate that you distracting him until we got there. I had my girls arrive early to catch him off-guard."

Ja'Ina asked, "so what did In-Dee want with the artifact in Lernel's mine?"

"Our client originally hired him to find and retrieve the idol for them. When he didn't return with it or contact them at the agreed time, they figured he decided to go for a more lucrative offer. So we took a contract to track him down. When he was open to selling it to us, we knew he was indeed reneging on his agreement and informed our client that we would apprehend him for them. On top of delivering Johlo, we'll get some extra for retrieving the idol. Very generous of them, I must say. Ahh, here we are – the brig."

Berini, Myrrna, Soraa and Ja'Ina entered the brig and the young friends were astonished by what they saw. There were three large rectangular slabs standing up along the wall. Each one contained a person encased in carbonite. Their forms protruded from the surface of the slabs like relief sculptures. The young women looked at the first slab – the unmistakable form of In-Dee Johlo could clearly be made out in the block of alloy. The expression frozen on his face was a mixture of agony and surprise. The sight was beyond anything Soraa and Ja'Ina could conceive or comprehend.

The other two slabs exhibited the forms of young women, one a human and the other a Zabrak. In the far corner was some kind of control pedestal next to a cylindrical booth about two meters in diameter that reached from the floor to the ceiling. Its door was open, but little could be made out inside the dark interior. Berini and Myrrna were visibly pleased with the shock the sight gave their guests.

"Don't worry, they're all alive," Berini reassured the young women. "The first person you have already met. This is how we'll deliver him to our client. It's actually our hallmark to deliver our quarries in this manner. We've found that the drama of such a presentation is desirable to many of those who put a price on someone's head, and our clients will pay a premium for it. It's the signature I put on my work."

Ja'Ina's jaw dropped. "That's horrible! How could you do that to someone?!"

"Look, my dear, we're already in a bit of an unsavory business as it is. Besides, we don't accept just any bounty. Believe it or not, I do have some principles and select our jobs carefully. We only go after real scum and villainy.

"But from whose point of view?"

"From mine, and that's all." Berini towered over Ja'Ina, glaring down at her. "I don't have to explain it to you!"

Soraa looked at the frozen women. The human's expression was one of pain, the Zabrak's of anger. "What about them?" she asked.

The Captain sighed. "That is more unfortunate. They're actually two of my girls. They were fighting with each other for some stupid reason. I do not tolerate _any_ kind of disharmony in my crew, so they're being punished. I don't like doing it as the carbon freezing process does run a minute risk of killing the subject. But overall it's a good deterrent from disobeying my rules and orders. Thankfully, I rarely have to mete out this punishment on my crew. These two are actually about due for release."

Ja'Ina was puzzled. "Don't you have a regular detention cell for this?"

"I don't have the room for such a facility on my ship, and this takes up a lot less space than a traditional brig. Besides, I'd rather not waste any of my provisions on my quarries. When frozen, they're in perfect hibernation so they don't require any food or water."

Soraa's stomach audibly growled, which embarrassed her.

Berini was amused. "It seems you haven't had anything to eat for a while now. Perfect timing! I was about to invite you to dine with me in my personal mess. I know the trip between Galathu and Krrad can take some time by sublight and you didn't keep much in the way of provisions in your ship."

Ja'Ina and Soraa followed Berini and Myrrna out of the brig. Soraa briefly looked back over her shoulder at the frozen prisoners as the door closed behind her.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

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Berini and Myrrna led their guests to the _Queen Valkyrie_'s topmost deck, which was Berini's suite. It consisted of two rooms - a lounge and a bedroom. The lounge was comfortable without being overly lavish. Large viewports on either side offered excellent views out both sides of the Corellian Corvette. The slow movement of the stars indicated they were still traveling at sublight velocity.

A couple of couches ran along the walls of the lounge with a holo-projector communications station positioned next to one of them. In the center of the lounge was a rectangular table with five places set for dining.

Standing at the far end of the table was a human girl younger than any of the others Soraa and Ja'Ina have seen on the ship thus far. Ja'Ina sensed an air of innocence and timidity about her. She was dressed in a plain, but nice everyday full-length dress and wore her straight blonde hair in a nondescript fashion. The teen was petite in stature like Ja'Ina but was considerably thinner, to the point of being a little underweight.

Berini spoke up. "Everyone, please sit."

The Captain sat at the head of the table, with Soraa and Ja'Ina on one side and Myrrna on the other. The young girl sat down in the remaining place setting next to Myrrna. Berini took a long inhale of the steam rising from the bowl of food in front of her.

Berini smiled at the teen. "My dear Aurelia, as always you make a wonderful kruchette stew!"

Aurelia replied with a delicate voice, "I'm glad you like it, Berini."

"Aurelia, these are our new guests – Soraa and Ja'Ina. They're from Galathu, the world we just visited."

Aurelia looked at Soraa and Ja'Ina with her head slightly down in a submissive manner. "Nice to meet you."

Soraa and Ja'Ina looked at the bowls in front of them. The stew didn't look like anything special but smelled delicious. Berini bade everyone to eat. Soraa and Ja'Ina were a little hesitant, but once they saw the others enjoying their food, they joined in.

There was little discussion during the meal. Once everyone was finished, Aurelia cleared the table and left the lounge. Berini asked Soraa and Ja'Ina to tell her about how they came to leave Galathu.

Over the next couple of hours, Soraa and Ja'Ina each took turns telling parts of their story. The whole time Berini intently and silently listened, very impressed by their story. Myrrna's permanent scowl didn't show it, but she too was impressed.

Berini leaned forward over the table towards the friends. "At the risk of sounding like a malfunctioning audio encoding, I will say again, you are full of surprises!"

Soraa and Ja'Ina looked at each other, confused.

Berini stood up and slowly walked around the table while she talked. "Let's see if I got this straight… You both were orphaned under unusual circumstances. You both wanted to leave your perfectly safe homeworld to venture out into the big, mysterious galaxy. You Soraa, mastered the use of blasters, while you Ja'Ina, studied swordsmanship and hand-to-hand defense. You killed a fool who crossed you more than once and killed an Imperial Stormtrooper who tried to capture you. You barely escaped becoming slaves, _and then_ tried your hand at being bounty hunters only to fail miserably at it. I must say, you've lived quite the interesting life on your little backwater world!" She turned to her first officer. "Maybe they'll do just fine out here after all, eh Myrrna?"

The purple Twi'lek agreed. "They're definitely more than meets the eyes."

"While you two have exhibited some real skills and talents, you've also had luck on your side since day one!"

"Maybe a little," answered Ja'Ina. "But I feel it was always meant to work out in the end."

"Well, I think luck played a more significant role than you do. What do you think, Soraa?"

"I guess so," Soraa sheepishly answered.

The Captain leaned over the table on her hands, looking right at the young women. "Alright then, I'm going to offer you a proposition. Join us and become part of my crew. You have much to learn about many things, but I think we could use your talents as well. You'll live with us on board the ship and participate in the work we get. You'll have everything you need, food, clothes, shelter, community, security… What do you think?"

Ja'Ina was once again hesitant, wanting to feel things out more. "Well, I'm not so sure that would be the best thing for us. We just wanted to go out on our own, right Soraa?"

Soraa nodded in agreement.

Berini looked at her first officer. "They're quite ignorant, hmm?"

"Yes," Myrrna hissed with cynicism.

The Captain turned back to face her guests. "You may not see it, but this is the best opportunity you could ever have in your young lives! Believe me, you may have made it this far, but Lady Luck can turn her loyalty as quickly as a roll on a chance cube. I insist that you join us and live a fruitful life. You won't last long on your own."

Soraa and Ja'Ina sat there stone-faced.

Berini became frustrated with their stubbornness. "You came here with nothing. I offer you everything!"

Ja'Ina still was not convinced. "We don't want to get into the line of work you do."

"What, do we violate your rigid code of ethics? Quite honestly, my dear, yours hasn't been all _that_ rigid thus far."

"Look, we didn't mean to kill anyone," Soraa added. "Things just happened that way!"

"Who's to say that they didn't deserve it, given what they did to you?" Berini let out a heavy sigh. "The Empire's known for committing atrocities in the name of maintaining order. Most of us in the lowest ranks weren't privy to such acts, probably to avoid any conflicts of conscience. I know what the troopers would have done with you had they caught you."

Ja'Ina wasn't swayed. "I'm sorry, but we're not going to get ourselves deeper into the moral quagmire than we already are. We just want to make an honest living. Please let us go, you have no reason to keep us here."

"This _moral quagmire_ you talk about fills the entire galaxy. There's always something that someone would consider immoral. It all boils down to points of view. But, I see I haven't convinced you otherwise." Berini turned to Soraa. "Is that what you think too?"

"Yeah, it is." Soraa herself was unsure, but she didn't want to leave Ja'Ina's side.

Berini sighed again. "How disappointing. I thought that since you've already had a miniscule taste of the dangers out here that you would jump at my offer. But you have decided and I can say no more about it. Let's go."

Ja'Ina noticed that Myrrna flashed a slight, enigmatic smile at her – the first time the Twi'lek's expression changed since they arrived. The young woman's blood ran cold and she heightened her awareness just in case.

Berini and Myrrna led Soraa and Ja'Ina back down to the main deck. As they walked back towards the hangar bay, they were suddenly greeted from behind by three more crew women, each of them armed with blasters. The pirates jabbed Soraa and Ja'Ina in the back with their weapons.

"Come with us," one of the pirates commanded. She was a Mirialan with a light-olive hue to her skin; her face detailed with small geometric tattoos.

Without warning, Ja'Ina spun around to grab the Mirialan's arm, but the pirate managed to barely step back out of reach. As the Mirialan raised her blaster towards her, Ja'Ina kicked the weapon out of the pirate's grasp. The human pirate then grabbed Ja'Ina's arm from behind, but the would-be captor quickly found herself tossed over Ja'Ina's shoulder.

Soraa's hand-to-hand skills were very limited so Myrrna grabbed her and held her tightly in a strong embrace with ease. Myrrna may have been shorter than Soraa, but the muscular Twi'lek was considerably the stronger. Berini merely watched the whole spectacle from where she stood with a smile of satisfaction.

The third pirate was the Togruta from before. She raised her blaster at Ja'Ina. "Stop right there, Pretty!"

Ja'Ina dropped to the floor just as the pirate fired, narrowly avoiding the stun blast. _At least they don't want to kill us_, she thought when she realized what kind of shot it was.

Ja'Ina sprang back up just as the Mirialan leapt towards her. She easily side-stepped her assailant, but she forgot about the Togruta in that instant.

In a panic, Soraa cried out, "Ina! Look out!"

Ja'Ina spun around towards Soraa's voice and never saw the Togruta take another shot at her from behind. The stun blast hit Ja'Ina between her shoulder blades and she fell to the deck, unconscious.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

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The first thing that came to Ja'Ina was a rush of sounds. At first it was like the gentle breeze through the trees in the forest near Sim Katall, and then it metamorphosed into a heavy rainstorm. The sound then decomposed and reconstructed into a mixture of the sounds of voices and machinery. She coughed and slowly opened her eyes. A nasty taste filled her mouth.

It was hard for Ja'Ina to bring everything into focus. She blinked several times and the brightness came back to her field of view. As the haze cleared, she could make out forms of people standing over her. She then realized she was lying on the deck on her back and she was surrounded by the pirates. A voice came from her left down near her head.

"Captain, she's coming around."

Ja'Ina turned her head towards the voice. It was the Mirialan. She was crouched down next to Ja'Ina holding a small empty vial which must have contained whatever it was that had the foul taste. The young woman tried to sit herself up, except her muscles did not obey her mind's command. She barely twitched and remained on her back. Everything in her field of vision was slightly spinning. Ja'Ina exhaled deeply in frustration.

Berini crouched down on Ja'Ina's right. "Rest easy, you've had a busy day!"

"W-what the h-hell are you d-doing?"

"I'm sorry I had to be so rough on you, but there was no other way."

Gathering her will, Ja'Ina slowly sat up. "No other way for what?"

"To get you to stay. Really, it was for your own good."

Ja'Ina rubbed the confusion out of her head. "And this is how you show it?"

"I know it seems crazy right now, but you'll thank me later."

Ja'Ina looked around. She realized she was back in the 'brig' where Berini kept the people in carbon freeze. "Where's Soraa?"

Berini simply pointed ahead of Ja'Ina, to the control console and booth in the corner. Within a cloud of steam a carbonite slab emerged from the booth. Ja'Ina choked at the sight and clumsily scrambled on her hands and knees towards the slab.

Protruding from the front face was the familiar form of Soraa. Her upper body thrust forward as if she were trying to burst out of the alloy block. Her face was frozen in an expression of terror. Ja'Ina started crying uncontrollably as she reached a shaking hand out to the slab and touched the form of Soraa's leg. It was like touching a relief sculpture, easy to forget that there really was a flesh-and-blood person within. Pressing her palm to the icy cold carbonite, Ja'Ina closed her eyes and reached out with her feelings, but she couldn't tell if Soraa was still alive inside or not.

Ja'Ina removed her hand and whipped her head around to face Berini and her pirates, her tears flinging from her face. She felt an incredible rage – just like the rage she felt towards Merek – a murderous rage. The dark energy returned and the young woman felt empowered by it. She sprang up screaming and ran full force towards Berini with a fire in her dark eyes.

The other pirates joined in front of their captain ready to intercept Ja'Ina. The Togruta was the first. She assumed a fighting stance, expecting to take the enraged young woman down easily. To the Togruta's surprise, Ja'Ina sprang up into a twisting somersault and landed right behind her. Ja'Ina donkey-kicked the back of the Togruta's knee and she went down with a yelp.

The Mirialan pirate stepped up, swinging her fists. Ja'Ina landed a lightning-quick open-handed jab in-between her opponent's punches, connecting with her face. The pirate fell backwards, stunned.

The human pirate swept Ja'Ina's legs which flipped her backwards. With amazing deftness, Ja'Ina went with her fall and whipped over onto her hands. She completed her motion by executing a perfect backwards handspring, landing on her feet in a wide combat stance. The pirate nodded to Ja'Ina, impressed with her skills. Ja'Ina beckoned her to approach. The pirate shook her head.

Then Ja'Ina sensed a stirring behind her. The Togruta, on her stomach, reached for Ja'Ina's ankles, but she was able to step just out of the pirate's reach. Then the third pirate came at her. Ja'Ina barely managed to step aside, then grabbed her opponent's arm and flipped her over. The pirate tumbled on top of the Togruta, who was scrambling to get up.

Ja'Ina ran towards Berini, intensely focused on the pirate captain as if she were at the end of a long tunnel. That was the young woman's downfall.

Myrrna stepped in from the side to intercept Ja'Ina. The Twi'lek swiped Ja'Ina's face with the back of her strong, purple hand. The powerful strike sent Ja'Ina spinning to the deck. Dazed and holding her face, she started to push herself up. She was then yanked up by the strong grip of a single hand on her arm by Berini. The pirate captain held the petite young woman up by the arm so that she could barely stand on her tip-toes.

"That's enough, Ja'Ina," she commanded.

Ja'Ina complied, relaxing her body in the imposing woman's grasp. She was breathing hard and now sported a painful black eye courtesy of Myrrna. Berini let Ja'Ina go, who then clumsily spilled down onto her knees. The other pirates came up and surrounded their prisoner.

"Damn you, Berini," Ja'Ina breathlessly uttered.

"I beg to differ, my dear. I'm trying to teach you an important lesson. Unfortunately, this seemed to be the only way you would listen."

"This is abuse and unwarranted detainment!"

"I'm tired of sounding like a broken holo-message. Perhaps after some cooling off we can talk again." The Captain then turned to the Togruta. "Chief Kurloh, escort Ja'Ina to her new quarters and leave a guard at the door."

Kurloh bowed, "Understood, My Queen."

The three pirates led Ja'Ina out of the brig. She was too tired and dazed to put up a fight. Berini and Myrrna remained behind. The young woman was taken to a corridor lined with many doors and surmised this was the crew quarters area. She couldn't believe she was being forced into this. They stopped in front of a door.

Kurloh opened the door. "In here, Pretty. This is your home."

Ja'Ina stopped at the doorway and scowled at Kurloh. "Please don't call me that."

The Togruta just smiled at Ja'Ina and gave her a light push into the room. The human and Mirialan pirates stood on either side as Kurloh closed the door.

The small room contained only a small desk with a chair, a small dresser and a pair of bunk beds. There were no windows but the room was well-lit by a single source in the ceiling. The quarters were spartan, but not unpleasant, given the circumstances. Ja'Ina sat down on the lower bunk. Her eyes were still red from crying and her black eye throbbed with pain.

Ja'Ina couldn't believe the mess that she and Soraa had gotten into. She wished they never left home, that they would have known just how dangerous it was beforehand. Even with stories that Ja'Ina watched on the HoloNet news and heard from the spacers back home, it seemed as if they would be able to avoid any trouble with ease.

_Apparently, trouble can find you out here_, Ja'Ina thought.

Her thoughts then turned to Soraa, imprisoned inside the carbonite slab. She did not understand how someone could possibly survive such treatment. No food, water, air. No anything. She wondered if Soraa had any sensations or awareness inside her personal prison. Ja'Ina shook her head as if to shake the thoughts out of her mind before they drove her crazy. She focused on the fact that her friend was still alive, and where there's life, there's hope. She lay down on the bunk and switched off the light. A small amount of light from the corridor bled in from under the door to keep the room from going completely pitch black.

Ja'Ina eventually fell into a fitful sleep, plagued by dark and disturbing dreams.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

* * *

An unknown time had passed when someone opened the door to Ja'Ina's quarters. The light that streamed in from the corridor was blinding. She awoke and squinted through the brightness to see who her visitor was. She could make out the distinctive outline of the curved montrals and head-tails of a Togruta. The newcomer turned on the light as Ja'Ina sat up. It was Kurloh.

Kurloh wore a chromasheath bustier accented with small metal plates and a short flared skirt. The ensemble was completed with wraps around her ankles and insteps, and chromasheath arm greaves finished with fingerless gloves. She was not wearing her blaster. Her skin was of a deep orange hue, accented with patterns of lines characteristic of her species. The length of her montrals and lekku indicated she was well into adulthood, actually a couple standard years older than Ja'Ina.

"Good morning, Pretty. I trust you slept well."

Ja'Ina sighed. This nickname the Togruta kept using was getting old. "Not very, but at least the bed is comfortable."

"I'm not surprised, but it will get better. Trust me. My name's Kurloh Finnik, by the way."

Kurloh stepped in and shut the door behind her, leaving the two of them alone. The Togruta pulled out the chair and sat down in front of Ja'Ina, looking her over. Ja'Ina was still wearing the crop top and harem pants that she had on ever since the day she and Soraa went aboard Mehar's ship. After everything she had gone through since then, her clothes were dirty and ragged. Her honey-brown skin was smeared with dirt and grime. Her hair was still in the long braided tail, but was quite messed up.

"It looks like you need to wash up and change, eh?" Kurloh's tone softened considerably, which surprised Ja'Ina.

"Yeah. These are the only clothes I've worn for the last couple days."

Kurloh sniffed exaggeratedly and smiled. "So that's why you stink like the back end of a bantha!"

"Hey, that's not nice!" the young woman snapped back.

"Just kidding, Ja'Ina."

Ja'Ina was again surprised, this time by Kurloh's use of her real name.

The Togruta continued. "I have something I'd like to ask you."

"Uh, okay. What is it?"

Kurloh leaned in close to Ja'Ina and whispered, "Are you a Jedi?"

Ja'Ina was taken aback. She yelped, "A Jedi?!"

Kurloh kept her voice to a whisper. "Shhhh! Not so loud!"

Ja'Ina whispered back. "W-why do you ask?" She was flabbergasted that Kurloh would make such an inquiry.

"You might not know it, but my many of my people are Force-sensitive to one degree or another. I am one of them, but nobody else on the ship knows it."

"Really? I've heard of the Jedi Knights and the Force, but only in folk stories. Are you the only Force-sensitive person on board?"

"I believe so. That is, until now."

Ja'Ina raised an eyebrow. "So you think I'm Force-sensitive too…"

The Togruta leaned in even closer. "Yes. The Force _is_ with you. I can feel your aura swirl around you like a pleasant breeze."

The young woman was thoroughly confused now. "So you're a Jedi, then?"

Kurloh laughed. "Me? Oh, no, no! Not by a long shot. Not all Force-sensitives are Jedi. I don't have the discipline it takes to follow the ways of the Jedi anyway."

"Was everyone here brought on board against their will?"

Kurloh was surprised by the sudden change in subject. "No, of course not, Ja'Ina. The rest of us _wanted_ to join Berini when she gave us the opportunity. Apparently, you and your friend aren't able to see that the Captain can give you a new, better life – very strange, indeed!"

Ja'Ina frowned at Kurloh. "So, how did you come to be here then?"

"It's not nearly as interesting as your story, but still… I'm technically on the run from the Empire. When they occupied my home planet Shili, I tried to accept it. But the Imps just got way out of hand. I mean between the harassment and such, I couldn't take it."

Kurloh bowed her head and continued. "Those mynock slimes treat us non-humans like scum. One day, I lost it and punched out some low-ranking Imperial officer who harassed me. I know it's not the gravest offense, but it was enough to land me in the local detention center. There, I was needlessly roughed up and abused. They released me after a couple of weeks and closely watched me all the time. After a little while I had enough, so I slipped away from them and left the planet. I'd probably face time in a labor camp if I ever return, but I don't care. I'm sure the Imps have bigger dewbacks to fry. I liked the idea of coming here to make a new life away from the Empire."

"So you know my story?"

"Of course I know your story! I'm the chief of security on the _Queen Valkyrie_. It's my business to know as much as I can about everyone who's on board. Your story is spreading around the ship like a heat storm on Ryloth!"

Ja'Ina looked down at her lap in embarrassment.

Kurloh patted Ja'Ina's shoulder with a smile. "Don't worry about it! No one thinks ill of you! In fact, I think you and your friend will fit in just fine with the rest of us."

"You don't understand, Kurloh. We don't want to be here. We just want to go off on our own and live an honest life."

"My dear Ja'Ina. With the way the Empire is running the galaxy, it's next to impossible to live a truly _honest_ life from their point of view. They've clamped down on damn near everything just so they could keep control of it all. But then there are people like us who undermine that control in our own little ways."

Ja'Ina sat there, not sure what to say. The whole situation was a bit overwhelming for her. Kurloh sensed her unease.

"Well, enough of that. Rest assured you are welcome here. Don't worry about your friend. The Captain is just trying to make a point. She's sometimes a bit over the top, if you know what I mean. I'm not sure what exactly Berini has in mind, but I'm sure that your friend will be released before too long."

"Somehow, I believe you. I can feel your sincerity."

Kurloh slapped Ja'Ina's shoulder and gave her a toothy grin. "Of course you can! Let's go get you freshened up. We may be a bunch of pirates, but we do try to keep ourselves up. We have pride, after all!"

Kurloh led Ja'Ina out of her quarters. When they stepped out the door, Ja'Ina noticed that the guards were gone.

"They actually left not long after you went inside. I don't know if you noticed, but there's no lock on the door."

_They trusted me_, Ja'Ina thought. _Maybe this isn't such a bad deal after all._


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

* * *

Ja'Ina walked along the corridor with her new friend, the Togruta security chief Kurloh. Thoughts and questions about having abilities within the Force were swirling in Ja'Ina's head, but she put them aside for the time being and focused on what she was doing at the moment.

"Look, I'm sorry about yesterday," Ja'Ina said. "I hope your leg is alright."

Kurloh smiled. She expected such a concern from Ja'Ina. "Don't worry about it. My leg's just fine. Honestly, I would have done the same thing in your position. I must admit I was surprised. I wasn't expecting you to have any serious combat skills. We both now know the Force had something to do with it." She winked at the young woman.

Ja'Ina simply shrugged with a smile.

They walked until they got to a door marked _Wardrobe_. Kurloh gestured to the door. "Here we are. This is where we keep all of our extra clothes. Shall we?"

Kurloh opened the door and let Ja'Ina inside first. The young woman was amazed by what she saw. It was a room-sized closet filled with countless articles of clothing, looking not unlike the costume racks of a stage theatre. There were many different styles and pieces and colors to choose from. There was something for anyone, regardless of what part of the galaxy they were from.

"Please, pick something you like. We have all kinds of clothes here. There're even outfits we use as disguises when needed. You can dress as an Imperial officer if you like!" She winked with a devilish grin.

After several minutes, Ja'Ina came back out of the wardrobe with a bundle of clothes in her hands. Kurloh led her to the sonic showers.

When Ja'Ina was done, she stepped out in her new outfit. She decided to go with a skimpier style along the lines of much of the _Queen Valkyrie_'s crew. It consisted of a short black breechcloth with two triangular panels that overlapped on her hips, a matching bikini top and light moccasin-style boots. The whole ensemble was made of soft bantha hide leather and accentuated with extra black strings that crisscrossed and encircled her torso and legs. She again wore her long raven hair in one thick braid down her back.

Kurloh clapped. "I'm impressed! You definitely look good, like you belong here with us!"

Ja'Ina smiled at the compliment.

"Let's get some breakfast, I'm sure you're hungry."

"Sounds like a good idea to me."

They walked into the conference room, where Soraa and Ja'Ina first met Berini. It doubled as the mess hall. There Ja'Ina saw many crew women of a number of races sitting around the large table eating their meals. Some of the conversations over breakfast were not in Galactic Basic. Ja'Ina knew only a little bit of Rodese and a few Huttese curses so she couldn't really follow them.

Some of the crew looked up and noticed Ja'Ina with Kurloh. Most of the conversations went quiet at the sight of the newcomer. All Ja'Ina thought to do was smile and shyly wave to them.

Kurloh broke the awkward silence. "Okay everyone! In case you didn't know, this is Ja'Ina Anour. She's one of our new sisters. Please show her some hospitality, Captain's orders!"

Everyone then went back to their own business while Kurloh and Ja'Ina made their way back to the galley. Ja'Ina saw a few of the women glare at her as they walked by. She nervously smiled back, but most simply ignored her.

There were many kinds of food to choose from. Aurelia and a couple other crewmates were running around the galley preparing several dishes. Ja'Ina remembered Aurelia from the dinner in Berini's lounge.

Ja'Ina waved to the girl. "Hi there, again! I never got a chance to thank you for the delicious stew."

Aurelia stopped mid-step, holding a pan of sizzling gorf eggs. She looked over at Ja'Ina with a face devoid of expression then went right back to what she was doing. Though Aurelia didn't show it, Ja'Ina could feel the timidity and even some shame coming from her.

Now that Ja'Ina had been made aware of her affinity with the Force, she began to closely pay attention to the feelings and impressions she got from people. She always had this sort of awareness, but never paid it much mind. The one time in the past that she couldn't ignore it was when she felt the immense wave of energies when she first arrived in Jum Katar. She remembered how overwhelming it was and how she had to concentrate all her energy to keep it in check and stay focused.

Kurloh and Ja'Ina got their food and went back to the conference room. They sat down at an empty spot at the table. Ja'Ina tried to be friendly and greet those next to her, but all they did was nod and turn back to their own business.

Ja'Ina took a few bites and looked over to Kurloh, who was slurping some soup that was a traditional Togruta breakfast. "So where are we going right now?"

Kurloh finished her spoonful and wiped a bit that she dropped on one of her head tails. "We're en route to deliver mister Johlo. It'll take about a day and a half by hyperspace."

"You mean we're traveling at light speed right now?"

"Yep."

Ja'Ina did not realize that the change in the sound of the ship while she was sleeping meant that they had crossed into the realm of hyperspace. She was always amazed by the stories she heard at The Haven from the various spacers who talked about the vast distances they traveled, but now she was like one of those spacers. Ja'Ina found that prospect very exciting and wondered what kind of stories she'd be able to share. She hoped that someday the story about Soraa's plight would not sound as terrifying as it was now, that she would come out of her imprisonment okay and give the story a happy ending.

Kurloh's inner senses tingled with Ja'Ina's thoughts. She leaned to whisper in her ear. "Don't worry. Your friend will be alright. You'll see."

Ja'Ina was amazed at how specific Kurloh's Force sense was. The young woman had been able to sense things, but it was always more general sensations. What Kurloh was doing was practically mind reading.

* * *

After they finished eating Ja'Ina and Kurloh left the conference room. Just outside the door, a green-skinned Twi'lek stepped right in front of Ja'Ina. The young woman noticed that the Twi'lek sported a short sword on her hip.

"I hear you're good with a blade. I wanna see just how good ya are!" The Twi'lek spoke with a clearly contemptuous tone.

Kurloh grabbed her arm. "Don't go there, Taam! You don't want to anger the Captain do you?"

"Hey, I'm not being unreasonable. I just wanna see if she's worthy to be one of us!"

"She doesn't need to prove anything to you. I'm going to have to report you if you cause trouble again. That's a promise."

Ja'Ina was annoyed with Taam's attitude. "What is it with all you Twi'leks? Every one I've come across has had some particularly negative attribute or another."

"Maybe it's somethin' with _you_," Taam sneered.

Kurloh was now angry with the Twi'lek. "That's it, Taam-"

Ja'Ina tapped Kurloh's arm. "It's okay. If this is what she needs to get off my case, then so be it."

Taam smiled smugly. "That's right. I just wanna see what you've got, if ya got what it takes!"

Though Ja'Ina still wasn't completely sure if she wanted to join these pirates, she took the challenge anyway. Kurloh wasn't afraid for Ja'Ina's safety against the sour Twi'lek; she was more concerned about what Berini's response to the incident would be.

One of the other crew handed Taam a sword and she tossed it to Ja'Ina. The young woman caught it but nearly dropped it. The weapon was a straight-bladed, dual-edged sword heavier than her scimitar, so she wasn't quite prepared for the difference. She swung it around a couple of times to get a feel for the balance. It would be a little more challenging for her, but it didn't dampen her confidence. Knowing now that her abilities were complemented with her connection to the Force made her feel a little more certain of herself.

Taam slowly drew her sword and raised it in front of her. The crowd stepped back to allow the combatants more room and decrease the possibility of collateral injury.

"I must warn you of your folly," Ja'Ina said. "I don't want to hurt you, but you risk giving me no other choice."

"Oh, I'm _scared_," the Twi'lek taunted.

Ja'Ina took a deep breath and tried to let herself go. She didn't have much experience sparring against others with melee weapons, so she resolved to keep herself focused on the moment and her opponent. She also had to keep in mind the people surrounding her. Thus far, these pirates were rather unpredictable. She knew she could trust Kurloh in spite of their first meeting, but she still wasn't sure about anyone else yet.

Ja'Ina again turned her focus to Taam. She felt an aggressive energy from the pirate, but at least it didn't feel like actual hatred or anger. That didn't make her much less dangerous though. Ja'Ina was actually glad that she chose a scantier outfit that allowed her more freedom of movement, which would help in this situation. She took another centering deep breath.

Taam grew impatient with Ja'Ina, who hadn't even raised her sword yet. "Well, are ya gonna just stand there, or are ya gonna fight?"

Ja'Ina knew that if her opponent continued down this rash direction, the Twi'lek would not be able to control herself very well in combat. The young woman also knew that unbridled aggression would not get one very far in a fight. Ja'Ina felt the Twi'lek's aggression begin to swell into anger. She waited for Taam to make the first move as she could sense the pirate couldn't wait anymore. Taam screamed and lunged at Ja'Ina with her sword.

It didn't take someone with the Force to anticipate such a move. Ja'Ina easily sidestepped the attack, never even raising her sword. Taam skidded to a halt and spun around, but Ja'Ina did not turn to face her. The Twi'lek quickly came at Ja'Ina, this time in a more controlled manner. She brought her blade up and swung down at Ja'Ina from behind, who then brought her own weapon up behind her and deflected the attack. She quickly turned to face Taam, this time she held her sword at the ready.

Taam was impressed. "That's it! That's the spirit! Now come get me!"

Ja'Ina kept calm and simply shook her head at her opponent.

This further angered Taam, who started hacking at Ja'Ina. It was a frenzied spectacle, like a berserk Galathan badger swiping its long claws in all directions. The pirate had much strength behind her blows which would certainly cause serious injury if they connected. But Ja'Ina chose to stay back and parry every strike to let her opponent tire herself out.

After a few moments, Ja'Ina decided she had had enough and changed her tactics. She deftly spun and twisted off to one side to swing her leg around to kick Taam. Her foot connected with Taam's midsection, which sent her backwards. The Twi'lek managed to keep on her feet and came back at Ja'Ina, thrusting her sword forward. Ja'Ina swiped at the incoming blade and deflected it. She then grabbed Taam's arm and flipped her over using her own momentum. To Ja'Ina's surprise, the Twi'lek managed to land crouched on her feet.

Taam spun back around and slashed her blade at Ja'Ina's shins. The young woman skipped over the attack. Taam then sprang towards Ja'Ina, who jumped over her with a flip. Both the combatants landed on their feet and turned to face each other, but Ja'Ina was the faster. She struck Taam's sword arm with the flat of her own blade which made the pirate drop her weapon. The Twi'lek grabbed her arm and yelled in pain. Ja'Ina stood at the ready.

Taam picked up her sword with her uninjured arm and started swiping at Ja'Ina again. The young woman could clearly see that the pirate was not ambidextrous. After a couple of clumsy slashes from the Twi'lek, Ja'Ina grabbed her weapon arm and twisted it around behind her back. The force of the grapple made Taam drop her sword, and Ja'Ina brought her own blade up against Taam's throat. The Twi'lek relented in Ja'Ina's tight grasp.

It wasn't the most challenging fight she'd been in, but Ja'Ina was still breathing hard. "Have you had enough, Taam?"

Suddenly, Berini appeared in front of them, clearly displeased with the sight. Without a word, Ja'Ina let Taam go.

Berini grabbed the defeated pirate by the throat. "You _have_ had enough, Taam! Do you need to take a carbonite nap?"

Taam nervously shook her head without saying anything.

Berini looked at Ja'Ina. "I don't know… What do you think, Ja'Ina?"

Without hesitation, she replied, "No, Captain. She doesn't need it." She put down her sword. As far as she was concerned, Taam had learned her lesson.

"Very well, then." Berini dropped Taam to the deck. "You're lucky Ja'Ina's a forgiving person! I think just about anyone else here would have froze you without a second thought."

Taam knelt with her head bowed in shame.

Berini crouched down and looked straight into the Twi'lek's eyes. She spoke with a calm intensity. "You disrupt the sisterhood once more and I'll space you before you can take your next breath. You understand me?"

Taam's eyes were wide with fear. "Y-yes, My Queen!"

"You are confined to your quarters until further notice. Get out of my sight!"

Taam stumbled up and walked away, holding her injured arm.

Berini pointed at Ja'Ina. "You. Come with me." Her tone of voice betrayed nothing of her thoughts or intentions.

Sheepishly, Ja'Ina complied. She wasn't sure what was going on. In her nervousness she wasn't able to read anything from Berini.

"Kurloh, I'll call you later," Berini called out.

The Togruta snapped to attention. "Yes, Captain!" She watched as Berini led Ja'Ina away and hoped that everything would be okay.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

* * *

Berini took Ja'Ina back up to her lounge. She didn't say a word the whole time up, and neither did Ja'Ina. She didn't know what to say to the imposing captain.

Berini welcomed Ja'Ina inside. "Please sit down. Would you like something to drink?"

"No thanks, Captain." Ja'Ina was not sure if she was in trouble or not. As such, she did not make eye contact with Berini.

Berini sat down next to her. "How are you doing, now that you've had some rest?"

"I'm better now, thanks," Ja'Ina replied without looking at Berini.

"I see you've dressed for your new life with us. It looks good on you."

"Thanks. I find it quite comfortable."

The pirate captain was troubled by Ja'Ina's curt responses. She stared at the young woman for a moment. "Look, what's the problem here? Why aren't you more conversive?"

After a few moments of silence, Ja'Ina finally turned to face Berini, scowling. "When can Soraa and I leave? You brought us here against our will and we're not even welcome."

"You mean Taam? Don't worry about her. She's a troublemaker who likes to spar with newcomers. It's got nothing to do with you personally."

Ja'Ina sat silently brooding, not acknowledging the Captain's comment.

Berini became impatient with the pouting young woman. "Why do you still reject my hospitality? Don't be a _guerfel_!" Berini used the Old Corellian word for 'fool'. She pulled back and sighed. "I'm sorry. That was uncalled for."

"I appreciate your apology, but we don't fit in here."

"You haven't even given it a chance! It looks like you've made a new friend with Kurloh. In spite of some appearances, you really are welcome here."

"What about Soraa? When will you release her?"

"Like it or not, you and Soraa are part of my crew now. You need to accept the reality of things. You'll find that it's a very good situation. However, _when_ she will be released is up to you."

Ja'Ina kept trying to read Berini, but she only came up against some kind of mental wall. _Does she have some Force ability of her own? _ Ja'Ina wondered to herself.

"What do I need to do?" she asked.

"Give me a show of good faith! Accept my offer. Join us and she will be freed, none the worse for wear. And then the two of you can enjoy a fruitful life with us on board the _Queen Valkyrie_."

"How about you let her go, then we'll join you."

Berini laughed. "Well, my dear! You're not much of a negotiator. That will just not do. You see, I run a benevolent dictatorship here. It's my way or no way, and I take care of you just like I take care of all my girls."

"A _benevolent _dictatorship? There's no such thing! A dictatorship is a dictatorship!"

Berini stood up and put her hands on her hips, towering over the petite woman sitting on the couch. "I beg to differ. What were things like at your orphanage, hmmm? I bet they had many rules you didn't like, yet it was all for your best interests." Berini paused for a moment to gauge Ja'Ina's reaction. "That's what I do here. Don't let the fact that I am a former Imperial officer confuse you. I do _not_ subscribe to the Empire's ideologies. Let me tell you something. If you think what I do is morally questionable, you should hear what kinds of things the Empire does to dissidents, or even non-humans. Let's put it this way, if I told you a small fraction of what I know about it you'd have nightmares for a long time."

Ja'Ina was confused. "But, isn't that the kind of things you get tangled with?"

"Sometimes we do have to deal with unsavory people, but sometimes it's necessary. And if I see something I don't like, I act accordingly. I told you that everyone in my crew has come from some kind of broken background or another. The most common story here is one of slavery. That is one thing I absolutely abhor. Forced labor is terrible, but what is done most often with female slaves is so much worse."

"I know, we met a couple."

"That slaver is but a single blood-flea on a bantha's hide. There are entire _guilds_ of slavers out there. And what's worse is that the Empire usually looks the other way, especially if the slaves are of non-human races. They actually have legislation in place that practically legalizes this disgusting practice."

"I had no idea…" Ja'Ina wasn't entirely truthful, recalling the story about Doren's father. But she wanted to see how much Berini would disclose.

Berini softened her tone and sat next to Ja'Ina again. "There's no way for you to know when everything you've known was whatever you could get on your insignificant world tucked away at the end of the Mid-Rim."

Just then, Aurelia stepped out of the bedroom rubbing her eyes. She wore a pretty nightgown and clutched a plush bantha toy. Her voice was soft and sleepy. "Berini, what's going on?"

The pirate captain shot up off the couch and quickly strode over to the bleary-eyed teenager. "Just talking with Ja'Ina, my dear. Please go back to sleep." Berini gently led Aurelia back to the bedroom. "That-a-girl. It's not time to get up yet."

This was the most 'motherly' Ja'Ina had ever seen Berini be. It was fascinating for her to watch. It was as if the Captain had this extreme dichotomy of personalities. To go from meting out harsh punishments to her crew to gently caring for a child just didn't seem possible within the same person. Ja'Ina found Berini even more intriguing now.

Berini returned from the bedroom. "I apologize for the interruption."

"No, no. She's a sweet kid. What's she doing amongst a bunch of pirates and bounty hunters anyway?"

Berini let out a tired sigh and her shoulders slumped. "This is a truly difficult thing to share with you, but it's something you ought to know. " She sat down again and looked straight into the young woman's eyes. "This is unfortunately related to our discussion. A couple of years back when she was just fourteen, her town was bombarded by Imperial forces with the intent to take out a suspected rebel base. Her family was killed in the destruction." Anger began to well up in the Captain's voice. "A seemingly-kind stranger approached her and offered to take her in. In her innocence, she went with him. The skragging scum then turned around and sold her to a particularly disgusting Hutt who summarily made her his slave."

Ja'Ina swallowed hard with her eyes wide. She sat up on the edge of the couch.

"That vile slime bag put Aurelia on a leash and treated her like she was his lowly pet. She suffered this humiliating fate for nearly a standard year before I found her. I had taken up a job from this Hutt, not knowing of her existence. When I went to collect my payment, he had her out with him. Luckily, I had shown up early and unannounced so he didn't have the chance to send her back to whatever hole he kept her in. I made a deal with him to give her to me in lieu of our agreed payment. He had a hard time giving her up, but finally relented. I promised that if he ever took any more slaves that I would come back and kill him myself."

Amazed by the Captain's attitude, Ja'Ina asked, "Did he believe you?"

"No, he didn't," Berini replied with disgust. "A few months later, I caught word that he had _acquired_ a new girl. So I returned and fulfilled my promise! His major-domo was grateful to inherit the operation, to say the least."

Ja'Ina's jaw practically hit the floor.

"Of course, I gave the new boss the same promise as his predecessor and he's been smart, so far. My position on slavery is well-known among our circles, and people know that I can and will deliver such promises." Berini's expression softened again. "I consider Aurelia my daughter, and the crew their little sister – especially the other former slaves. Unfortunately, the poor dear may never fully recover from the trauma of her ordeal."

"Is Myrrna a former slave as well?"

"Yes she is. She also has a death mark on her."

"A _death mark_?"

"She endured countless physical abuses from her master, who also happened to be an Imperial governor. You probably noticed the large scar on her lekku. Her master beat her so badly that she suffered brain damage which altered her personality and caused her to become violent. Eventually, she rose up against him and brutally killed him. She managed to flee his compound, but now has a price on her head, wanted dead by the Empire. She came to me for a job and protection. In spite of her mental issues, she's quite a competent first officer and I trust her with my life. She still wears her slave outfit in freedom as a show of triumph over her subjugation."

Berini paused and regarded Ja'Ina, who was clearly dumbfounded with amazement. "So what do you think of that? Aurelia's and Myrrna's stories are just two of many on board my ship. Not all are of slavery, but they all have some sort of troubled past."

Just then, an audio signal rang from the holo-projector. Berini opened the channel. "What is it?"

The image of a female Theelin projected into the air. "My Queen, we are receiving a communication from Dymiar Minister Wen."

"Ah, very good, Gartia. Patch him through."

The holo-image wavered and distorted for a moment as the Theelin was replaced by a non-human who had a long, thin neck and wide flattened head topped with three short horns which gave the appearance not unlike a crown.

"Greetings, Minister Wen. I trust you are well."

"I am, Captain Berini. Thank you for asking. I received your message that you had found Mister Johlo."

"That is correct. We are en-route to Dymia now. We should be arriving in about sixteen standard hours."

"Excellent! We will have your payment ready for pickup, Captain."

"Minister, we have also retrieved the idol."

Dymiar facial features did not outwardly convey emotions like many other species do, but Wen's voice clearly communicated great pleasure at the news. "Wonderful, wonderful! You will receive our agreed bonus for it."

"I appreciate you upholding your end of the bargain, Minister. I expected nothing less than integrity from you and your people."

"We look forward to receiving you, Captain."

"Thank you, Minister." Berini deactivated the holo-projector.

The Captain turned back to Ja'Ina, who silently watched the whole exchange. "You'll be accompanying me on the delivery. After all, you did help me catch Johlo." Berini smiled.

Ja'Ina decided to go along with the whole business and smiled back. She stood up and said, "Yes, Captain."

Ja'Ina's agreeable response greatly pleased Berini. "By the way," she added, "I'll have Kurloh take you to the infirmary to have that black eye taken care of."

The young woman had nearly forgotten about her painful wound while listening to Berini's intense stories. She softly touched her eye. "Thank you, Captain."


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

* * *

Kurloh took Ja'Ina to the infirmary, which was little more than a small room with a bed and some cabinets filled with miscellaneous first aid supplies, basic medical equipment and implements. Kurloh opened up one of these cabinets and pulled out a standard medpac. Normally these were meant for field use, but the crew of the _Queen Valkyrie_ used them as the primary stock of everyday medical supplies.

Kurloh pulled out a small tube of salve and put some on Ja'Ina's injured eye. "Here you go. This ointment is made from bacta, so it will help your black eye heal fairly quickly."

Ja'Ina winced as Kurloh applied the medicine. The Togruta was apparently not as good of a medic as she was a security chief.

"Whew! Myrrna sure did a number on you. We'll keep using this for a couple of days and your eye will be good as new!"

"Thanks, Kurloh. Where are we going to now?"

"The Captain wanted me to show you the bridge and to meet some more of the crew."

As the two women stepped out, they were greeted by the astromech droid Fitty. Ja'Ina was happy to see him.

"Fitty! How are you doing?" Though her arms couldn't quite reach all the way around, Ja'Ina did the best she could to give the droid a hug.

Fitty proceeded to let out an extended stream of beeps and clicks, blats and hoots.

Kurloh looked at Ja'Ina, puzzled. "Do you understand it?"

Ja'Ina smiled wide. "Not in the slightest! But I'll take that to mean that he's doing well."

Fitty slightly rocked back and forth as if to nod affirmative.

Kurloh and Ja'Ina walked to the bridge with Fitty following them like a puppy, whistling to himself. Ja'Ina turned around mid-stride and put a finger to her lips. The astromech complied and was quiet save for the buzz of his wheel servos.

The trio made their way to the bridge, which was more like an enlarged cockpit. It took up the forward area of the upper deck inside the cylindrical hammerhead bow of the ship, which contributed to the unique shape of a Corellian Corvette. The rest of the cylindrical section housed more crew quarters and the main computer room among other subsystems like shield generators and communications arrays.

On duty were a red-skinned Zeltron pilot and a Chalactan copilot, the Theelin communications officer Gartia, and a human looking over a datapad. The human was the only one who wasn't so wrapped up in her tasks to not notice the newcomers. The woman was a fair amount older than both Ja'Ina and Kurloh, but not nearly as old as the matronly Berini. She wore a loose-fitting tank top and a single-legged pant, full length over her right leg and bikini-style on the left. She walked with a slight limp.

The woman stepped up and greeted them. "Chief Kurloh, what brings you on this visit?"

"Rann, these two are some new additions to the crew." Kurloh gestured to Ja'Ina and Fitty. "This is Ja'Ina Anour from Galathu. And this is her droid."

Rann shook Ja'Ina's hand with a smile. "Well, nice to meet you, Ja'Ina. I'm Rann Klepil. When I'm not shooting guns from the ship, I'm shooting guns from the hip!"

Ja'Ina chuckled at the joke.

"Very clever, as always," Kurloh snidely remarked. She had heard Rann's quip countless times before.

Rann's comment piqued Ja'Ina's curiosity. "So you're good with blasters?"

"Yeah, I'd like to think so," Rann proudly declared. "Why?"

"I'd like you to meet my best friend Soraa. She's also an expert on blasters and would love to talk with someone else who shares her interests."

"Great! Where is she?"

Ja'Ina choked on the answer, so Kurloh spoke for her. "Unfortunately, the Captain saw fit to freeze her not long after coming aboard."

"Bah. Berini's just showing off again." Rann leaned over towards Ja'Ina. "She's really a cuddly little nerf calf inside that stony ex-Imperial Navy shell. I know your friend will be out soon. We'll have to get together and have a shooting match."

Ja'Ina didn't know what to think about Rann's comment. Everyone who'd mentioned Soraa's freezing didn't make much of it. It seemed like she was the only one on board who thought it was a horrible act. She was confused to the point of dizziness. Kurloh sensed Ja'Ina's feelings and took her hand, which brought her out of her mental haze.

Kurloh pulled Ja'Ina along, leaving Rann to her work. "Come up here, Ja'Ina. Check out the view out the front viewports."

The sight was incredible. The view forward showed ribbon-like streams of light that twisted around the ship from an infinite distance in front of them. The sight resembled a tunnel with no light at the end. While Ja'Ina was impressed by the beautiful sight, it was also very disorienting for her. Ja'Ina also felt tired again, so Kurloh led her and Fitty back to her quarters where she could rest for a while. Ja'Ina slept in her bunk while Fitty faithfully stood watch over her.

* * *

Ja'Ina awoke some time later, actually feeling refreshed this time. She sat up and yawned. "I wonder how long I've been sleeping…"

Fitty answered her with the data from his internal chronometer, but unfortunately she couldn't understand what the astromech was saying with his various binary electronic sounds.

Ja'Ina sighed. "I really wish you had a vocabulator with the capacity to speak Basic."

Fitty let out a mournful whine.

"I'm sorry, Fitty. I don't mean to complain. You're really a perfectly fine droid. It's not your problem that I can't understand you." She put her hand on top of his domed head. He spun it around a couple of times while she held her hand in place. He squealed, which made her giggle.

Ja'Ina put on her moccasin boots and stood up. "Let's go see what's going on."

She slowly opened the door and stepped out into the corridor, still unsure if she was allowed to walk freely around the ship. Fitty eagerly pushed up against the back of her legs to urge her further out.

"Okay, okay. We'll go. I guess it's alright."

Ja'Ina had to fight the feeling like she was sneaking around. She still didn't feel entirely welcome, but at the same time didn't want to dishonor Berini's hospitality. She wanted to get over to the brig to see Soraa. The problem was that she wasn't sure where it was in relation to the crew quarters section.

She remembered what Kurloh had said about her apparent abilities with the Force. Ja'Ina closed her eyes and tried to clear her mind. She hoped that she could reach out and find Soraa's presence. Ja'Ina took deep slow breaths as she stretched out with her feelings. She tried for what felt like an eternity, but her efforts were of no good. Being imprisoned in carbonite puts the subject in a state of complete hibernation which hides their presence from detection through the Force. Ja'Ina hung her head in disappointment and started walking down the corridor. Fitty rolled along close behind her.

They rounded the first corner and almost literally ran into Kurloh. "Hey Ja'Ina! You're up! We were wondering how long you were going to sleep. You must have been exhausted. We just dropped out of light speed and are on final approach to deliver Mister Johlo. We'll be leaving for the surface in about a half-hour. Berini is briefing the landing party right now and wanted you to join in."

"S-sure thing." Ja'Ina was still a little bit dazed from her attempt to reach out with the Force. "Berini did mention that she wanted me to participate in the delivery."

"Well, what're you waiting for? We're all in the conference room. Your droid will have to stay here though."

Fitty let out a loud blat of protest.

Ja'Ina crouched down in front of the disappointed astromech. "Fitty, I need you to stay on board and keep watch over Soraa. Okay?"

Fitty whistled with a long tone as if to say 'okay.'

Kurloh and Ja'Ina went to the conference room and joined the briefing already in progress. Berini walked around the table as she explained the situation to the attendees. Ja'Ina and Kurloh sat down and listened. Myrrna was also there standing up against a wall, there just to observe. Ja'Ina unconsciously touched her injured eye when she caught sight of the Twi'lek. There were three others sitting at the table – the Zabrak who Ja'Ina recognized as the same one who was in carbon freeze earlier and one of the humans plus the Theelin from the run-in at In-Dee's hangar in Jum Katar.

Ja'Ina turned her attention to the briefing. Berini was still talking.

"We will take the shuttle down to the surface since they lack landing facilities large enough for the _Queen Valkyrie_. I do not suspect a double-cross so we'll take just normal armament. That will include our new sister, Ja'Ina."

Berini produced Ja'Ina's scimitar and handed it to her, much to Ja'Ina's surprise. The young woman didn't say anything, just bowed her head.

Berini motioned to her first officer. "Myrrna will be in command of the _Valkyrie_ while we're out. Are there any questions?"

The Zabrak looked like she wanted to say something, but held back.

"Is there something you'd like to add, Ruyqar?" the Captain asked the Zabrak.  
Ruyqar silently shook her head.

"Alright then. We will assemble in the landing bay in double-oh-thirty." She turned to the Theelin and human. "Marka, Juun, retrieve Mister Johlo and bring him to the bay."

The two answered simultaneously, "Yes, Captain."

"Very good. Dismissed."

Ruyqar swiftly rose from her chair and exited the room. Marka and Juun walked over to Ja'Ina and Kurloh.

Ja'Ina spoke first. "Hello, again. I'm glad you got out okay after the Imperials showed up."

"Yeah, it wasn't _too_ hard for us," Juun proudly answered. "That old fool caused us some trouble, but we were already gone when the Imps arrived."

"Johlo was very easy, though," Marka added. "Isn't that right, Kurloh?"

The Togruta nodded. "Yeah, the idiot still thought we were going to buy the idol from him. It was nothing to stun him and run out with him."

Ja'Ina was curious. "What happened to the old man, Lernel?"

Marka replied, "We don't know and we don't care!" She high-fived Juun and Kurloh. "He wasn't a threat to us!"

Ja'Ina took her sword and strapped it to her back on its baldric.

Juun pointed to the sword. "You really know how to use that thing?"

The dark memory of slaying Merek flashed through Ja'Ina's mind. She hid the pain with a smile. "Yeah, I do. I'm glad to have it back again."


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

* * *

The landing party loaded into the small trans-atmospheric shuttle. The carbonite-encased In-Dee Johlo sat in the small aft cargo area. Ja'Ina looked back at the hapless spacer and her heart ached for Soraa. Ja'Ina tried to keep in mind that she would be freed when they got back from this mission. Kurloh sensed Ja'Ina's pain and reached over and reassuringly squeezed her arm. Ja'Ina looked at the Togruta and smiled.

To Ja'Ina's surprise, Berini was piloting the shuttle herself. _What else can the Captain do_, she wondered. This was only Ja'Ina's second trans-atmospheric trip, and first going back into an atmosphere. Her stomach turned as the smooth ride became bumpy as they entered Dymia's ionosphere. The rest of the women were chatting amongst themselves the whole time, being all in a day's work for them.

A few minutes after entering the atmosphere, Berini addressed the group. "Alright, ladies, this should be another blue milk run, but keep your eyes open just in case. We'll be reaching the Minister's palace in another five minutes, where he and his entourage will meet us."

"So will we still keep our blasters when we leave the shuttle?" Marka asked.

"Yes. But keep them holstered. You shouldn't need to use them."

Ja'Ina realized she was actually the only one there who did not carry a blaster.

After they received clearance to land, Berini carefully maneuvered the shuttle to a landing platform next to the Minister's palace. Once the shuttle rested on its landing struts, everyone got out of their seats. Marka, Juun and Kurloh activated the repulsors on In-Dee's slab and floated it down the aft loading ramp like a coffin rolling on an invisible cart.

After everyone was out, Berini took over pushing the carbonite slab towards the palace. She had Ja'Ina walk beside her while everyone else fell in behind them. They walked slowly towards the palace via a walkway that was several meters wide, but Wen and his group were nowhere to be seen.

The landing pad was surrounded by lush vegetation, though few tall trees. Ja'Ina could feel the rich life all around them as she inhaled the clean air, noting the unfamiliar yet pleasant scents and sounds. She forgot that it had been a long time since she last took an enjoyable walk in the wilderness, and how much she missed it.

The Dymiar built the landing pad and walkway to the palace on supports a few meters above the ground. This was to minimize the environmental impact of the rare off-world visitors to the remote planet. The palace was of grand stature and designed to blend in with the natural surroundings.

Still, in amongst the peacefulness Ja'Ina was troubled. Something didn't feel right to her. "What's going on?" She asked. "Why is no one here?"

Berini looked at her and smiled, "Don't worry, my dear. Sometimes our clients are a bit timid. We do have to keep an air of imposing strength about us, or we get nowhere in this business. This is especially the case with the Dymiar as they are a peaceful people with limited space travel capabilities. Dymia is very remote so they don't have much contact with outlanders. They'll come out when they're ready."

Berini and her crew were still nearly twenty meters from the palace when the wide door opened and out stepped Wen and several of his staff.

Just then, Marka screamed, "Look out!"

Four large droids suddenly climbed onto the walkway and stepped out between Berini and her team and the palace. The automatons were tall – nearly four meters, humanoid, bulky and their thick arms were tipped with large nasty-looking vibro-pickaxes.

"Heavy mining droids," Berini muttered. "Minister Wen, what is the meaning of this?"

All of the pirates had their weapons drawn. Even Ja'Ina had her scimitar out, ready for whatever may happen. Someone then hobbled out from behind the mechanical menaces. To Ja'Ina's surprise, it was the old miner Lernel, sporting bandaged wounds he sustained from the pirates back at In-Dee's hangar. He was holding what looked like some kind of small control box.

Ja'Ina blurted out, "What the-!"

Berini interrupted with her booming voice. "You must be the old man who tried to interfere in our business on Galathu."

"You're correct, Captain," Juun called out from behind Berini. "That's the fool!"

Berini was incensed. "Minister Wen, I am not pleased with this treachery!"

Lernel spoke up. "Mistress Pirate, I assure you the Dymiar have nothin' to do with this…At least, not directly."

Ja'Ina came forward a couple of steps, holding her sword in front of her. "What are you talking about, Lernel?"

He was visibly pleased with the sight of Ja'Ina. "Well, hi there! Good to see ya' again. I like yer new clothes. I had no idea you and yer friend were pirates!" He pointed his finger towards her. "That was a good act ya' put on back on Galathu. I really thought the two of ya' were down-and-out."

"You've got it wrong-"

Lernel cut Ja'Ina off. "That don't matter! See, we're all fulla surprises here. Johlo was actually my partner, until he double-crossed me. He told me he had information on where to find the artifact. I joined him 'cause he needed someone to dig it outta the asteroid for him. He promised me fifty-fifty when he sold it. Instead the dirty nerf-herder ran off with it after he collapsed the cave's entrance and trapped me inside!"

Berini stepped forward. "That's not our problem, _old man_!"

"Well, now it is. See, I followed ya' here to find out who hired him to find the artifact. Then I could take possession of this double-crosser and deliver him and the artifact for a fraction of whatever ya' greedy girls wanted for them."

"Trying to undercut the competition, eh?" Berini said, amused by Lernel's insolence. "I suppose you don't know who you're dealing with here."

"I admit I wasn't very sure who ya' people were. But that's why I have my droids here. They're designed to bore through rock, but I'm sure they could bore through bodies with no trouble."

Ja'Ina's heart leapt into her throat. "You wouldn't _dare_!"

"Trust me my dear, I would! Ya' don't know how hard it is to make a livin' these days! Now, hand over In-Dee and the artifact or I'll have to turn 'em on!"

Ruyqar yelled out, "Go to hell, sithspawn!" She fired a quick shot from her blaster. The shot went slightly wide, but it was enough to scare Lernel, who stumbled to one side and fell to the walkway.

Without saying a word, the old spacer flipped a switch that activated the behemoth mining droids. They lurched forward and the pirates quickly fell back, leaving the carbonite slab where it was. In unison, the droids activated their vibro-picks and reached forward as they approached the women. They lumbered slowly but ominously towards their targets.

The pirates all fired at the giant automatons, but the blasts had little effect. The droids' bodies were reinforced to withstand the rigors of mining so the blasts from the hand weapons merely left burn marks in their alloy skin. The droids marched forward, undeterred by the attacks. They leveled their vibro-picks towards the pirates and charged on.

Frightened, Ja'Ina didn't know what to do. If the others' blasters had little effect, her weapon would be absolutely useless. She sheathed her sword and searched for an alternative solution.

The droids closed in, relentless against the onslaught of blaster bolts. They swung their vibro-picks at the pirates. All the women could do was to dodge the strikes. Ruyqar frantically blasted away at a droid that was walking upon her, yelling Zabraki battle cries at it. It quickly jabbed at her and in an instant the vibro-pick tore into her.

Juun cried out, "Ruyqar! No!"

The pirates were quickly losing ground and getting pinched between the mining droids and the shuttle. The vibro-pick attacks were hitting uncomfortably closer to their targets.

While dodging repeated jabs and swipes from one of the large droids, Ja'Ina searched for a way to turn things around. There was no way they could directly take out the droids, so it seemed hopeless. She focused inward for a moment and searched for another way. Then it came to her, almost like a distant voice in the wind.

Ja'Ina searched for Lernel. She found him standing far behind his droids, next to the frozen In-Dee Johlo. The old man clearly enjoyed the whole spectacle from where he stood, shielded from the fighting. He was still holding the droid control box in his hand.

Ja'Ina dove to the side, barely avoiding a vibro-pick jab that slammed into the walkway where she stood moments before. She quickly recovered and lunged through the narrow space between its trunk-like legs, landed on her hands and flipped over back onto her feet. She then made a Force-augmented dash straight for Lernel.

Lernel turned his attention from the battle to the young woman running at a seemingly inhuman speed right toward him. He operated the box, sending a command to turn the mining droids around and come after his assailant. The droids stopped their advance and reversed their direction, much to the surprise to Berini and the others.

The droids were able to take only a couple of lumbering steps by the time Ja'Ina reached Lernel. He tried to hobble away, but his efforts were useless. With one fluid motion, she drew her scimitar and slashed at the control box in the old man's hand. It flew from his grasp and burst into a ball of sparks. He fell backwards hollering and the droids suddenly stopped mid-step. Off-balance, one of the mechanical monstrosities fell over the side of the walkway and crashed to the ground below.

Ja'Ina stood straddling over Lernel, pointing the tip of her scimitar right at his throat. She was breathing heavily and again felt much anger. This time however, she was aware of her feelings and tried to keep herself in check. She did not want to kill him, especially in anger. She recalled the dark place she started to fall into after killing Merek, and she didn't want to go there ever again. That instant of sheer power and utter darkness scared her to death. She stepped back off of the pitiful, helpless old man and relaxed her sword arm.

Lernel cowered on the walkway, sniveling. "P-p-please don't k-kill me!"

Ja'Ina silently stood over the old man holding her sword down at her side. Her face betrayed nothing of the struggle against the anger she felt inside. Berini and the others walked up from behind her.

Berini crouched down over Lernel. An intense fire burned in her eyes but she spoke calmly. "You killed one of my girls. Now you will know just who you're dealing with."

She stood back up over the whimpering old man and drew her blaster.

Ja'Ina blurted out, "No, wait!"

Berini squeezed the trigger and in an instant, Lernel was dead. With satisfaction, she holstered her blaster and walked over to the carbonite-encased In-Dee Johlo, still hovering unattended in the middle of the walkway.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine**

* * *

During the battle, Wen and his entourage stood frozen still in the doorway of the palace, scared out of their wits. They were a peaceful people unaccustomed to such violence.

Berini, Kurloh and Marka slowly walked the carbonite slab up to their frightened clients. The Dymiar stood about one-and-a-half meters tall on short legs and wore robes of deep green and brown colors that left their long arms bare. Minister Wen tilted his head down and made a series of hand gestures, a sign of respectful greetings in the Dymiar culture. Berini reciprocated with a bow.

"Minister, here is the man who stole your idol from you, as per our agreement. I regret the violent events that just took place."

"We understand the situation, Captain," Wen replied with a nervous, shaky voice. "We knew going into this that we could be dealing with less-than-pleasant beings in the course of tracking down this thief. Present company excluded, of course."

Berini's soft side showed once more, if only in a slight sense. She understood that the Dymiar did not comprehend the methods that bounty hunters sometimes had to employ. "Thank you for understanding, Minister. Also, here is the idol."

Out of the silken bag she produced the idol. It was a beautiful golden statue only about fifteen centimeters tall. Berini respectfully handed it to Wen.

With much emotion in his voice, though unable to visibly express it in a way that non-Dymiar could relate, he spoke. "Captain Berini, we can never express the level of gratitude to which we feel for you. This idol represents our most holy deity Hrrytslontu. It had been lost for many centuries. Only recently were we able to decipher the clues within the ancient texts leading to its whereabouts. It was beyond our abilities to find and retrieve it ourselves, hence our hiring Mister Johlo."

Wen paused for a moment as he looked at the idol again. His companions stared at it the entire time in amazement. "It is most unfortunate that he turned out to be an unsavory individual who had forsaken our need."

Berini gave a slight smile. "Minister, it has been an honor to return something this precious to you."

"We will honor the full payment as per our agreement. Also, we wish to honor your fallen comrade by giving her our most revered burial rites. She will be remembered for her role in this momentous event in our history for generations to come."

Berini bowed again. "We are honored by your kindness."

Kurloh realized that Ja'Ina was not with them. She turned around and found Ja'Ina still standing over Lernel's body. Kurloh walked over to her.

When the Togruta came to Ja'Ina's side, the young woman said in a soft, mournful voice, "He didn't have to die…"

"We don't know that for sure. I'm not saying this isn't unfortunate, but this is just how Berini is. She's fiercely protective of all of us, like a mother Wookiee for her wooklings."

"Still, it's hard for me to accept."

Kurloh hugged Ja'Ina. "I know. As another who has a connection with the living Force, I too feel what you feel. I sense the conflict in you. I admit that it's sometimes dangerous path to tread for Force-sensitives like us to live a life such as ours. Like it or not, we have an extra burden to combat the dark side without the Jedi – especially when the battle comes from within."

Ja'Ina stepped back, smiling to her friend. "Are you sure you're not a Jedi? You sound just like the ones in the stories told by the old spacers back home."

Kurloh laughed. "I should ask you the same question. You handle your sword just like a lightsaber."

Ja'Ina sheathed her scimitar on her back and smiled warmly at the Togruta.

* * *

The landing party stayed for the ceremony for Ruyqar that evening. The rest of the crew was able to watch via the holo-projector in the common room aboard the _Queen Valkyrie_.

It was a beautiful, touching ceremony, though Berini and her crew comprehended very little of it. Dozens of Dymiar were present, performing reverent chants in their native tongue. The site was punctuated with ceremonial fires, and Wen himself presided over the whole event, transformed from a politician into some kind of a high priest. The vast difference between the roles was fascinating to Berini.

The ceremony lasted well into the night, though somehow time seemed to pass quickly, as if by magic. At the conclusion, they gently laid Ruyqar's body to rest in a deep grave in the soft, fertile ground. The Dymiar believed that the deceased would grow again from the rich soil and begin life anew. Some of the pirates were visibly upset, but Berini remained stoic. However, it wasn't hard to see that she too was affected deeply by the passing of one of her crew, and also moved by the respect the Dymiar gave Ruyqar for her sacrifice.

Once it was over, Berini personally thanked Wen and all of his people in attendance. She and her crew returned to the shuttle to head back to the _Queen Valkyrie_, which held in orbit high above Dymia. Unlike the trip down, the flight back to the ship was devoid of any conversation. Ja'Ina regarded the remaining empty seat that Ruyqar occupied on the trip down.

Ja'Ina leaned over to Kurloh and whispered, "So what will they do with In-Dee?"

"I really don't know. But don't worry about it. It's not our place to be concerned about a bounty's fate once they've been delivered."

Ja'Ina leaned back to her seat and hoped that since the Dymiar were a peaceful people, that they would not kill In-Dee, but at worst keep him imprisoned in the carbonite, indefinitely. Just then, her thoughts turned to Soraa, encased in her own carbonite slab back on the ship. She hoped that Soraa would now be released.

Kurloh leaned over to her and whispered, "I'm sure she will be very soon…"

_How does she do that?_ Ja'Ina thought.

Kurloh knowingly winked and smiled at her.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten**

* * *

The shuttle had returned once more to the hangar bay of the _Queen Valkyrie_. After everyone disembarked, Berini addressed the party.

"Ladies, I just want to say you did a good job today. We're all saddened by the loss of our sister Ruyqar, but we all know that our line of business can be hazardous sometimes. To honor her we will keep on going, doing what we do best!"

The others nodded and gave some quiet responses in agreement.

Berini motioned to Ja'Ina with a beaming smile. "I also would like to commend our newest sister, Ja'Ina Anour. Without her, our mission would have been a failure and we all could very well have died. In my eyes, she has shown us that she is worthy to be part of the crew of the _Valkyrie_."

Berini turned to Ja'Ina and spoke directly to her so that the others couldn't hear. "You, my dear, have indeed shown me a sign of good faith. I will honor our deal and will release Soraa. She too shall be welcomed into the sisterhood."

Ja'Ina began to cry in joy. Tears welled up in her eyes and her lip trembled. She reached out to hug the Captain, who put her hand up between them.

"Ah-ah-ah. Not in front of the crew." She gave a warm smile to the young woman.

Berini turned back to the others. "Okay everyone. We've got some time to take a break before our next job. As you were!"

The pirates dispersed from the hangar bay, eager to enjoy some downtime for a while. Berini was fine with partying and celebration with libations and the like, but only as long as it didn't get out of hand. Fitty rolled out from behind the _Lucky Star_, tootling happy sounds as he approached Ja'Ina. The young woman smiled at him and patted his head.

Berini took Ja'Ina to the brig, with Fitty rolling along behind them. The young woman was trembling with the anticipation of Soraa's release from that terrible carbon-alloy slab. During the time that she'd been living on board the _Queen Valkyrie_, Ja'Ina had begun to understand how Berini thought and operated. The Captain indeed was like a loving mother to her crew, even if some of her methods were harsh. Ja'Ina also started to become aware of some of Berini's internal feelings, perhaps because of the time she had spent close to her. It still seemed like Berini had some kind of wall or shield up, almost like she had some kind of ability in the Force. Perhaps she started to open that wall up just a little bit to let Ja'Ina have a peek inside. Of course, this was all just supposition on Ja'Ina's part.

They reached the brig and Berini let Ja'Ina in first. Other than the captive Soraa, they were the only ones there. Ja'Ina briskly walked to Soraa, whose slab was still standing upright against the wall. Ja'Ina put a trembling hand on Soraa's frozen cheek, fighting back tears. Ja'Ina sent a thought to Soraa, hoping that somehow she could receive it. _Just a few more moments Soraa, then you'll be free_.

Berini came up from behind Ja'Ina pushing a repulsor gurney up next to the carbonite slab. The Captain took Ja'Ina's shoulders and turned her to look straight into her eyes. "Now Ja'Ina, when I activate the controls, the alloy will melt away from Soraa's body. She's going to fall out so we'll need to catch her and lay her on the gurney. Then we'll take her to the infirmary to recover."

Ja'Ina didn't say anything, just quickly nodded with her lips pursed. Berini reached around to the side of the slab and operated some controls. A deep, throbbing hum filled the room. Berini and Ja'Ina stood right in front of the slab and watched as the carbonite began to glow red around Soraa's form. Ja'Ina watched in amazement as the alloy began to melt away, revealing Soraa just underneath. Fitty whistled a long, surprised tone.

Soraa slightly opened her mouth and slowly began to breathe. To Ja'Ina, it seemed to take an eternity for the carbonite to melt. The anticipation was almost too much for her to bear.

The last of the alloy receded from Soraa's body and she collapsed into the waiting arms of Berini. Despite the Captain's size and strength, she struggled to keep from dropping the inert young woman. She hefted Soraa by her shoulders and Ja'Ina took her legs. They managed to get her onto the gurney somewhat gently.

Ja'Ina tightly hugged Soraa. "Soraa! Soraa! Can you hear me? I'm so glad you're back!"

All Soraa could do was softly moan.

Berini put a blanket on top of Soraa. "Come on let's get her to the infirmary."

As they briskly walked down the corridor, Berini and Ja'Ina passed a few of the crew, who stepped out of the way and watched as they passed by.

Berini and Ja'Ina rolled Soraa into the infirmary, removed her clothes and got her into the bed. Berini connected a small diagnostic and monitoring device to Soraa. The device was basically a small spherical machine on top of a pole stand. It had a rudimentary droid brain that was programmed with basic medical data and subroutines. Ja'Ina covered Soraa with a blanket.

Berini turned the device on and it came to life with a series of beeps and a display screen which indicated that Soraa's condition was stable and good. Ja'Ina applied a bacta bandage to Soraa's blaster wound, which had not healed any more during the time she was in carbon freeze.

Ja'Ina knelt down next to the bed and grasped Soraa's limp, icy hand. "Soraa, can you hear me? It's Ina." She couldn't help but sniffle as she talked.

Soraa spoke slowly with a very weak voice. "Ina… is that you? What's… going… on?"

"You'll be just fine. Right now, you need to rest."

Soraa slowly turned her head toward Ja'Ina. "I can… Barely hear you…" She opened her eyes. They were glazed over. "Wh… Why can't I see you?"

Ja'Ina looked back at Berini, very worried at Soraa's comment.

Berini warmly smiled and whispered, "It's called hibernation sickness. These symptoms are perfectly normal and will subside soon. Since she was in for only a couple of days, it should be no time at all."

The Captain put a reassuring hand on Ja'Ina's shoulder and the young woman slowly nodded at her.

Ja'Ina turned back to Soraa. "It's okay, you'll be able to see and everything again in a little while. For now, just rest. You're in a safe place, so don't worry." She gently stroked the side of Soraa's head.

"I… Know it's a safe place… as long as you're here, too…" Soraa weakly smiled.

Ja'Ina leaned over and kissed Soraa's forehead. "I'll be nearby keeping an eye on you and Fitty will stay right here by your side."

The astromech let out a reassuring whistle. Soraa gave another weak smile and closed her eyes. Ja'Ina stood up and slowly left the infirmary with Berini. They stepped out into the corridor to find Kurloh was waiting there for them.

Berini shut the door. "Well, I have some things to attend to – a captain's duties never end. Ja'Ina, feel free to do whatever you want. This is your ship too."

Ja'Ina stood to attention and snapped a salute, which looked a little odd since her 'uniform' was a bit too brief to pass military muster. "Yes, Sir-uh, Ma'am! Yes, Captain-er, Queen!"

Berini smiled. "It's alright, Ja'Ina. There's no need to go _that_ far with it! We're not a military ship."

"Thank you, Captain."

Berini turned and left, leaving Kurloh and Ja'Ina alone outside of the infirmary.

"How's she doing?" Kurloh asked, thumbing toward the infirmary.

"Berini says Soraa will be just fine after some rest."

"Good, good! That's always the case, though the actual after-effects vary from person to person. Anyway, enough of that, let's go. We've got some things to talk about."


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven**

* * *

Kurloh took Ja'Ina to her quarters. Rann was Kurloh's roommate; she was there sitting at the desk reading a holo-book on blaster schematics.

Rann looked up at Kurloh and Ja'Ina. "Hey Ku! Oh, good to see you again Ja'Ina."

_Ku?_ Ja'Ina thought.

"That's my nickname, Ja'Ina," Kurloh said with a smile. "Most everyone here calls me that. You can too."

"Thanks Ku. You both can call me Ina."

Rann added with a mock frown, "but I'm still just Rann."

The three women all chuckled.

"Just don't call Ku 'Kurly', even though she has curly horns," Rann joked.

"Montrals!" Kurloh growled at Rann, who in turn feigned fear of the Togruta.

Kurloh and Ja'Ina sat down on the lower bunk. Rann turned her chair around to face them. "So Ina, is your friend out yet?"

"Yeah, Soraa's recovering right now." Ja'Ina's expression was a mixture of joy and relief.

Rann's face brightened up. "See, didn't I tell you? Everything will be just fine now."

"Yeah, everything will be just fine…" Ja'Ina's voice trailed off ever so slightly.

Kurloh grabbed Ja'Ina's hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "Once she's better, she'll be another new member of the crew."

Rann was excited. "I'm looking forward to meeting another blaster expert. While most of the girls here use them, not very many of them have a serious proficiency." Then her tone turned grim. "I just heard about Ruyqar. She may have been bitter and not the easiest person to get along with, but she was still a good woman to serve with."

Ja'Ina didn't know what to say since she didn't know Ruyqar, but just nodded.

Kurloh added, "Just like how life renews itself, this ship lost one part only to gain two more."

"Ina, don't you just love it when Ku waxes philosophic?" Rann asked facetiously.

"Actually, I do. And I agree with her." Ja'Ina's answer surprised Rann.

Rann stood her arm up on her lap and rested her chin on her fist. "Great. Now I have _two_ philosophers to deal with."

Ja'Ina couldn't hold her curiosity anymore. "So Rann, what's your story? How did you get so good with blasters?"

Rann sat back, crossed her legs and sighed. "Well, where should I begin? I do have a rather troubled past, it might be hard for you to hear, Ina."

"That's okay. Please."

"Alright then. I used to be a professional assassin. A few years back, I took a job from the Empire, hired to kill a former Imperial general who had defected to the Rebellion. I managed to track him down and took the opportunity to hit." She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly before continuing. "I had my long-range blaster rifle set up from an excellent vantage point and drew a perfect bead on him. I was just about to bag him when the absolute worst thing happened."

Ja'Ina was literally on the edge of her seat. "What?"

"A contingent of Imperial troopers showed up near my position and started blasting the whole area. Needless to say, my target managed to escape the onslaught and the Star Destroyer captain who hired me was beyond angry with me because my quarry got away."

"But it wasn't your fault!"

Rann shrugged. "The Imps arrested me and took me back to the Star Destroyer. The troop commander told the captain that I had tipped the target off, leaving the commander no choice but to send in his armored clowns to chase the defector down. There was no way I could disprove him, nor did they care to hear about it from a 'piece of scum' assassin." A darkness fell upon Rann's face. "They tortured me with the Burning."

With a name like that, it sounded like something more terrible than anything in Ja'Ina's worst nightmares.

Rann continued. "I was strapped to a table while a torture droid slowly seared my leg with a low-power blaster while they watched. The pain was indescribable. I wished they would have just killed me."

Ja'Ina was shaking, her eyes wide in astonishment. "Why did they do that?!"

"Because the Empire can, Ina. The destroyer captain was simply a sadistic slime-worm. I hear that's a quality that can help one rise quickly in the ranks of the Empire. Normally, the Burning is used as an interrogation tool, but they didn't want any information from me. After they were finished with their _entertainment_, they wrapped up what little was left of my leg and dumped me in some back alley on some planet, the name I can't recall. I was really out of it."

Ja'Ina now no longer felt guilt over the death of the Stormtrooper back at Sim Katall, not if this was the way the Empire asserts their authority. She still couldn't believe that Berini used to be one of them. Even though the Captain was sometimes overly harsh, that level of cruelty was not in her nature.

"Luck beyond luck, I was found by someone there who knew Berini and I was brought to the _Valkyrie_. The Captain took care of me. There was literally nothing left of my leg, so it had to be amputated." She rolled up a little of the one long leg of her pant, revealing a mechanical leg underneath. The complex visible mechanisms were completely incomprehensible to Ja'Ina.

"Berini was able to get me to a good cyberneticist who gave me this new leg. At first I absolutely hated it. I felt like I was no longer human, and it hurt like hell."

"I'm so sorry to hear that."

"Thanks, Ina. But hey, I'm still here so the story doesn't end all bad." Rann rolled her pant leg back down. "The leg works rather well, but it took a long time for me to get used to walking on it. I still have a hard time convincing myself that I am human, so I chose to wear this one-legged pant so I could conceal the artificial leg and see my real flesh-and-blood leg at all times. That way I can remember what I am."

"But your body, organic or mechanical, is _not_ what you are; you're really much more than that."

_Sounding like a Jedi there, Ina_, Kurloh thought. She smiled approvingly at Ja'Ina.

"Philosopher Ku here tells me similar things all the time. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to see past my flesh and mechanics so I have nothing else to go on. The continuous pain with my leg doesn't help either." Rann smiled, though it had a twinge of emotional pain and sorrow behind it.

Kurloh leaned towards Ja'Ina. "Trust me. I've been working on her attitude for a long time, Ina. But now she has _two _of usto put up with!" She smiled and winked. "Honestly, I think it was more than luck that we found Rann, Ina. I believe she was _meant_ to be found."

Ja'Ina nodded in agreement.

Rann shook her head. "You too, huh Ina? Well, whatever. I'm here now, and I'm grateful that I at least hadn't lost my shooting skills. I don't know what I would have done if I could no longer use a blaster." She clenched her fists. "I hate the Empire with all my being! I wish every single one of them dead!"

Both Kurloh and Ja'Ina could feel Rann's anger swell. It filled the small room like a terrible stench. In times like these, Kurloh would redirect Rann's attention.

"Say, Rann! Let's all go to the shooting practice hall. I'm sure Ina would love to see your shooting skills."

"I don't feel like it right now, Ku," Rann brooded. "Besides, my leg is starting to hurt again. I just wanna read more of my tech holo-books."

"Okay then," Kurloh resigned with shrugged shoulders. "C'mon Ina, let's go rest at your place, then see how Soraa's doing."

"Okay, I'd like that." Ja'Ina was worried about leaving Rann in this state of mind.

Kurloh smiled at Ja'Ina. _It's okay, Ina. She'll be okay._

"Well, bye then Rann," Kurloh said aloud. "We'll see you later."

"It was nice meeting you, Rann," Ja'Ina added.

"Mmm mmm," Rann mumbled, staring into the holo-book.

Kurloh and Ja'Ina left the room and headed back to rest in Ja'Ina's quarters. The young woman was more relaxed about Soraa's well-being now that she had been released from the carbon freeze.

Kurloh turned to Ja'Ina as they walked. "Just so you know… Rann still takes pain medication for her leg. But unfortunately, she's addicted to it."

"Really? How?"

"The only pain killers that were strong enough for her were derived from a potent variety of spice, one that is quite narcotic. Unfortunately, it's hard to tell when she really has pain, or just needs a fix. Even I have a hard time reading it since they're very much one in the same in her mind."

"It seems like she's still able to function okay, though."

Ja'Ina was a bit puzzled. The only spice addicts she had heard of were extreme cases who weren't able to carry on a normal life.

"Yeah, she does a good job in that area. But still, I feel she could be much more if she didn't have this to struggle with."


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter Twelve**

* * *

Ja'Ina and Kurloh made their way back to the infirmary after resting for a while. It had been a couple of hours since Soraa had been freed from the carbonite. Ja'Ina hoped that she would be completely recovered and ready to join her in Berini's crew.

The two women arrived at the infirmary and went inside. Fitty was still keeping close watch on his recovering friend. He gave a welcoming tootle to Ja'Ina and Kurloh.

"Hi Fitty," Ja'Ina replied. "Is she awake yet?"

Fitty answered back in his binary language, but Ja'Ina could see full well that Soraa was still asleep. She did look better, however, more like she was just sleeping a normal, peaceful sleep.

"Okay little fellow, we'll be quiet then."

Kurloh was confused by the way Ja'Ina addressed the astromech. "How do you know it's a _he _anyway?"

Fitty turned his domed head to point his photoreceptor at the Togruta. He panned slightly up and down, as if he was looking her over. He let out a cat-call hoot, to which Kurloh blushingly smiled.

Ja'Ina chuckled. "See? He likes girls!"

Just then, Soraa begin to stir. Ja'Ina turned and walked over to her bed-side and leaned down over her friend.

Soraa's eyes slowly fluttered open, as if she had to pull her eyelids apart from being stuck together. She turned her head and looked up at Ja'Ina. She reached over and tugged on the front triangular panel of Ja'Ina's breechcloth. Soraa spoke softly, "What's this, Ina? Do you have a show tonight?"

Ja'Ina warmly smiled to her friend. "No, Soraa. I don't have a show tonight. These are my new clothes."

Soraa sat up a little. Ja'Ina's comment surprised her and broke her thoughts through the mental haze. "Whaddya mean your _new clothes_? Where are we?"

"Do you remember anything since we came onboard?"

Soraa thought for a moment, furrowing her brow and scratching her head. She looked around the infirmary, hoping she'd recognize her surroundings, but she didn't. "I remember we took off from the hangar to fly to Krrad, and then were attacked… Something about pirates… And then I had nightmares about suffocating, cold… I couldn't see or hear or move…"

"You're okay now, Soraa. You're among friends," Ja'Ina reassured her.

Soraa sat up all the way and held the blanket to keep herself covered. She looked around again. This time she noticed Fitty standing right behind Ja'Ina. Over next to Fitty, she saw someone she at the same time recognized but did not know who she was. Soraa pointed at this stranger. "Who is this?"

"Soraa, this is Kurloh. She's the chief of security on the ship, and a friend."

Kurloh stepped forward offering the warmest smile she could. "It's nice to properly meet you, Soraa. You can call me Ku."

Soraa stared at Kurloh for a moment and squinted her eyes to focus on her. In an instant, her eyes widened and she retreated away from the Togruta, pointing at her. "You're one of the pirates! Ja'Ina, what in the galaxy is going on here?!"

Ja'Ina knelt down and reached out to her confused friend. "It's okay. Ku's a good person. So is everyone on board, relatively speaking."

"I remember you saying something about hibernation, sickness or something like that. What were you talking about?"

"You were frozen in carbonite for the last couple of days. But you're okay now."

Soraa was horrified. "Why did they do that to me?! Why did you let them do it?!"

"It's a long story," Ja'Ina replied. "But trust me; I didn't _let_ them do it. Either way, you're gonna be fine now. You're just a little confused."

Kurloh added, "Yeah, confusion is normal after you've been revived. You've been through a lot, so it's understandable."

"What the hell's she talking about, Ina? Why would she know such things?!"

Kurloh answered for Ja'Ina. "Because, Soraa, you're not the only one aboard who's ever been frozen in carbonite."

That only further added to Soraa's confusion. Ja'Ina stood up and took Kurloh back away from the bed.

"Look, Ku, can you please do me a favor and go find Soraa some clothes?"

"No problem, Ina," Kurloh answered. "I'll go get her something." Without saying anything to Soraa, Kurloh briskly left the infirmary.

Ja'Ina went back to Soraa and sat on the bed with her. She spent some time updating her on everything that had happened since she was frozen and what their current situation was. Soraa's head was still swirling with anxious questions. It was difficult for her to accept and Ja'Ina sensed her unease.

"Don't worry about it, Soraa. Clarity will come in time. Just trust me, we're okay and everything's fine now. We have a new home and new purpose in life. We'll have the adventures we've always dreamed of."

"I'll try. Please be patient with me…" Soraa felt embarrassed by her weakness in her faith in her best friend. Ja'Ina had never let her down before, but this time was especially intense.

"I will. I know that Ku and the Captain will be, and I'll make sure everyone else is too."

At that point, Kurloh came back in with some clothes in her hands. She handed them to Soraa. "Here you go."

"Th-thanks, Kurloh."

"Please, 'Ku'. You may not realize it yet, but we are friends."

"Thanks, Ku."

Ja'Ina, Kurloh and Fitty all left the infirmary to let Soraa get dressed. A short time later, she shakily stepped out in a comfortable white robe. Ja'Ina and Kurloh nodded in approval. Fitty booped and beeped with them.

Ja'Ina patted Soraa's shoulder. "Come on, we're going to go meet with the Captain."

They made their way back up to Berini's top-deck suite with Ja'Ina helping Soraa walk on her unsteady feet. When they arrived, Kurloh rang the annunciator.

From within, they could hear Berini's commanding voice. "Enter."

The door slid open and the three women and droid entered. Berini was sitting on one of the couches with Aurelia, reading a holo-book with her. Berini handed the holo-book to the teen and stood up to greet the newcomers. Soraa stopped cold at the sight of the Captain. Recalling the events when they first came aboard the _Queen Valkyrie_, she shied back towards the door.

Berini tried to ease Soraa's mind. "Please, my dear. I'm not going to hurt you. Surely Ja'Ina and Kurloh have helped you to understand the situation." She spoke with a warm, welcoming voice – a mother's voice.

Soraa stood there glued to her spot. She didn't have her blaster pistol and was terribly nervous with being in the same room as the woman who had imprisoned her in carbonite.

Ja'Ina whispered into Soraa's ear. "Just breathe. Relax. There's nothing to worry about here." There was a tone in Ja'Ina's voice that soothed Soraa like never before. It was as if there was some kind of magic quality her best friend had recently acquired. Whatever it was, it worked better than a bottle of ale would have, and it allowed her to see the situation with more clarity.

Berini gestured toward herself. "Please Soraa, step forward."

With the new serenity she felt, Soraa slowly stepped towards Berini, who then reached out a strong hand to her. Soraa reached out and Berini took her hand and firmly shook it with a big smile. The young woman almost lost her balance from the vigorous handshake. Berini clasped her shoulder to keep her steady.

"Welcome to my family, Soraa! Welcome to the crew of the _Queen Valkyrie_!"

Soraa did not anticipate Berini's salutation, but she felt better about being there. "Thank you, Captain." She smiled back at her new captain.

* * *

_Author's note: this ends the third episode of Soraa and Ja'Ina's adventure. Episode IV begins the chronicle of their new lives as bounty hunters.  
_

_You can find Episode IV at: www fanfiction net/s/8771880/1/The-Best-Laid-Plans-Episode-IV (just add the missing periods)  
_

_And, as always, thank you for reading!_


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